Possible Missouri Workers Comp changes coming
The Springfield News-Leader had an interesting article in the Sunday paper about efforts underway to amend a "loophole" in the workers compensation law.
I urge you to read the article here.
Work Comp is a trade off between the employer and the employee. The employer "trades' arguing liability (as one would have to prove in a car crash or slip and fall) for a limited payments based upon a set criteria of injuries under the Work Comp law. The employee typically must bring a work place injury under these Work Comp laws but will be paid for lost wages, his injuries and have his medical bills paid. This limits the total exposure for the employer. It is much more complicated than it sounds.
The "loophole" the article references related to Robinson v. Hooker is not a loophole at all, but rather an unintended consequences of the 2005 amendments in which the state legislature stripped many workers of their rights. Historically, the Work Comp laws were to be read with a "liberal construction" in favor of coverage under the statute. The Matt Blunt era amendments changed this to a "strict construction" of the Work Comp law. The unintended consequence of strictly construing the law is that if something is not covered under the Work Comp law, the employee may seek damages in civil court under traditional tort theories. This can be much more money for the injured worker than under Work Comp. The insurance lobby is saying "oops maybe we didn't think this through".
This idea of co-workers being sued is something of a red herring on the part of business and insurance interests. Typically, there will be no lawsuit against a co-employee unless there is some insurance coverage available for that employee.
My office represent their clients or their families who were injured or killed on the job in Springfield, Missouri or Branson Missouri and we represent injured individuals and their families throughout Southwest Missouri, including Marshfield, Buffalo, Republic, Rogersville, Lebanon, Strafford, Willard, Battlefield and Highlandville; Mount Vernon, Aurora, Osage Beach, Camdenton and in Greene County, Christian County, Polk County, Dallas County, Webster County, Taney County, Stone County, Lawrence County, Camden County and Laclede County.
The Krebs Law Firm LLC offers a free case evaluation if you have questions about your Social Security disability claim, personal injury or workers compensation claim. Many people may be worried that they do not have the money to pay for a disability attorney, work comp or personal injury lawyer, but we only handle work comp, personal injury and Social Security cases on a contingent fee basis. In other words, there is no fee unless we are successful. If you would like to speak to Jason Krebs and his staff simply call (417) 883-5886 for your free case evaluation or to discuss your Social Security appeal today!
